2006 Ozone Standard Exceedances in National Parks

The National Park Service (NPS) actively monitors ozone at its parks from April to October. Ozone measurements are compared with the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets this standard as the level at which the ozone in the air becomes unhealthy.

The level of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone in 2006 was 80 part per billion (ppb), daily maximum 8-hour average. The ozone standard was exceeded at an ambient air quality monitoring site when the 3-year average of the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration was greater than 85 ppb, which occured when the 3-year average equaled or exceeded 85 ppb. The table below counts the number of days when the daily maximum 8-hour average ozone concentration equalled or exceeded 85 ppb in 2006.

2006 Ozone Standard Exceedances

National Park

April

May

June

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

2006 Season

Total Count

Max 8-hr O3 (ppb)

4th highest max.
8-hr O3 (ppb)

Assateague Island – Maintenance Area

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

2

89

84

Death Valley – Park Village

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

2

88

82

Great Smoky Mtns – Clingman’s Dome

0

0

2

2

0

0

0

4

89

86

Great Smoky Mtns – Cove Mountain

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

2

86

80

Great Smoky Mtns – Look Rock

0

1

2

1

2

0

0

6

89

85

Joshua Tree – Black Rock

0

10

14

7

4

1

0

36

105

103

Joshua Tree – Cottonwood Canyon

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

87

79

Joshua Tree – Pinto Wells

0

2

0

0

0

0

0

2

89

83

Lake Mead – Meadview

0

1

0

0

0

0

0

1

87

81

Mammoth Cave – Houchin Meadow

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

74

71

Padre Island – Malaquite Visitor Center

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

89

80

Petrified Forest – South Entrance

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

85

71

Pinnacles – East Entrance Station

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

88

78

Rocky Mountain – Longs Peak

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

1

91

76

Sequoia & Kings Canyon – Ash Mountain

0

0

9

9

20

11

0

49

109

104

Sequoia & Kings Canyon – Lower Kaweah

0

0

5

5

6

1

0

17

101

97

Yosemite – Turtleback Dome

0

3

0

0

1

0

0

4

94

85

Zion – Dalton’s Wash

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

2

138

75

Validation Level *

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

*Validation level 0 indicates raw data. Validation level 1 indicates preliminary data. Validation level 2 indicates final, validated data. Counts of days with 8-hr average ozone greater than 85 ppb may change after the data is fully validated. The ozone season runs from April to October for the detailed current ozone conditions. During the winter, more limited numbers of locations and web products are available.